Monthly Archives: September 2018

UCLA Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Monroe Gordon commits the university to the first annual College and University Voter Registration Ballot Bowl. (photos by Jonathan Van Dyke)

As California Secretary of State Alex Padilla stood before a group of enthusiastic UCLA students in front of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame, he couldn’t help but smile about his choice of campuses to kick off the inaugural College and University Voter Registration Ballot Bowl.

“I feel the energy, and we just need to keep building on it into the November election,” he said, adding that the UCLA students present represented the “true Bruin spirit, the spirit of teamwork, spirit of community service, and the spirit of friendly competition.”

UCLA is an economic powerhouse for Los Angeles, Southern California and California overall. A study by the Beacon Economics consultancy found that UCLA generated a total of $11.06 billion in economic activity and supported more than 72,700 full-time jobs throughout the state during the 2016–17 fiscal year.

The report also found that UCLA is the fourth largest employer in Los Angeles County, behind the county itself, the Los Angeles Unified School District and the City of Los Angeles, and ahead such companies as Kaiser Permanente, Northrop Grumman and Target Corp.

Fifth District County Supervisor Kathryn Barger addresses the room flanked by UCLA Government and Community Relations Executive Director Richard Benbow and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh. (photos by Jonathan Van Dyke)

Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger came to UCLA with a commitment to working with experts here to end homelessness and treat the county’s health and mental health issues that often go hand-in-hand with this countywide crisis.

“Mental health and health, in general, are my passions,” she said during a roundtable discussion on Sept. 6 at UCLA Center for Health Sciences.

At the start of her career, Barger worked as former Firth District Supervisor Mike Antonovich’s health deputy, and she has maintained her commitment to those issues ever since. “We have to look at the cause of what’s taking place in this population and what is growing it. I am committed to working with you all … This isn’t about any one district.”

Barger heard from an accomplished group representing three major facets of UCLA’s work with the homeless community: